Salisbury to craft beekeeping ordinance

Salisbury Township commissioners are still in search of the sweet spot when it comes to regulating the activity of beekeeping within their municipality.

After struggling last month with the allowable distance that practitioners of etymology can keep beehives from their neighbors, bees came up again Thursday during a workshop session, returning just as surely as the flowers and dandelions they pollinate will rise from the ground this spring.

Providing the board with sample ordinances from other municipalities, Township Manager Randy Soriano asked whether the township should include revised language regarding beekeeping as part of its overall ordinance amendment, or create a stand-alone ordinance pertaining solely to the buzzing honey-makers.

"Either way, I envision legislation to be a cooperative effort," he said.

Last month, the board considered an amendment to the zoning ordinance that would require a 6-foot-high fence for beehives between 30 and 60 feet from the property line, which beekeepers Richard and Norma Cusick found to be cost-prohibitive and unreasonable.

Commissioner Debra Brinton said the problem with drafting an ordinance relates to misinformation surrounding bees — some residents might favor stringent requirements for fences and barriers because of the fear of being stung.

She noted that the Cusicks have no neighbors and might be OK with merely putting up hedges, as is required in at least one of the sample ordinances Soriano provided.

"I don't mind if bees come into my yard, but would a lot of bees come into my yard?" she asked. "That's the problem; a lot of people are not informed."

Township resident Jan Keim said the fence requirement would keep most people from considering keeping bees.

"It makes it so costly it becomes restrictive; it will deter people's interest in beekeeping, which is sorely needed right now," she said.

Norma Cusick suggested the board form a committee and have a workshop session that would include experts such as Steve Finke, president of the Lehigh Valley Beekeepers Association and vice president of the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association.

"The group would come up with a reasonable zoning ordinance for the township," she said.

Ultimately the board agreed with Brinton and fellow Commissioner Joanne Ackerman volunteering to form the committee and meet with Finke.

The township should simply create an ordinance that is in line with what the state requires, resident Jill Stanley suggested.

"Since you have to register with the state that should be sufficient," she said.

The board agreed that the activity of beekeeping is not to be taken lightly, given the importance of bees to agriculture.